~NOT YOUR AVERAGE CUP OF JOE: A Starbucks is slated to open its first location in Bed-Stuy next spring, and it’s keeping people up at night. The new outpost is part of a project by the coffee company to open stores and create jobs in underserved communities. But residents of the quickly-gentrifying ’hood worry about competition and say the shop will be “awful” for local businesses. On top of that, a study by GFI Realty Services shows that large national brands like Starbucks are causing retail rents to surge in popular areas of Brooklyn like Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Boerum Hill andDowntown Brooklyn. (via Commercial Observer, NYDN and Real Estate Weekly)